Chittorgarh

Introduction

Chittorgarh is a major city in the state of Rajasthan in western India, and serves as the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It sits on the banks of the Gambhiri and Berach rivers, the Berach being a tributary of the Banas.

The city was a major stronghold of the Rajput State of Medapata, and that martial Rajput heritage is the lens through which most travellers approach it.

Before you go

Chittorgarh's climate is dry and parched for much of the year. Summers run from April to June and are fiercely hot, winters from October to February are cool, and the monsoon brings only slight rainfall between June and August. Plan your trip for the window between September and March, when conditions are most comfortable for exploring.

Whatever the season, come prepared for serious sun: bring shades, a cap and sunscreen, as the heat can be torturous. Sturdy shoes are essential for climbing the fort, which is massive, so protect your ankles on the uneven ground. Keep a safe distance from the monkeys at the fort, which are unpredictable despite generally not harming anyone, and be wary of resting under trees where they gather above. Because the fort is so large and it is easy to get lost inside, travel in groups and with local guides, and consider hiring bicycles to make your exploration less tiring.

Getting there

Chittorgarh has no airport of its own; the nearest is Maharana Pratap Airport (UDR) at Udaipur, roughly 90 km away, so most travellers fly in there and continue overland. Rail is the more direct option: the Chittorgarh railway station links the city with Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Udaipur and Delhi, and the Palace on Wheels luxury train also calls here.

• By road, National Highways 76 and 79 cross at Chittorgarh, and the Golden Quadrilateral highway system passes through the city, connecting it to much of the rest of India along with the East West Corridor express highway.
• Rajasthan roadways (RSRTC) runs services around Chittorgarh, and private bus operators connect the city with major cities across India, with regular departures for Delhi, Mount Abu, Jaipur, Indore and Ajmer.

Getting around

Getting around Chittorgarh comes down to two things: moving through the city itself and getting up onto Chittor Fort, which sits on a hill above town. Much of the district, and the fort in particular, lends itself well to exploring on foot and trekking. Renting a bicycle is a popular way to explore the fort independently — expect a fairly tough climb up, but once you're at the top the terrain is mainly flat, which makes cycling or walking among the monuments comfortable. You can also climb to the top of a tower on the fort, where the view is outstanding.

Auto-rickshaws are the handiest way to tour the fort, and a tour includes waiting time, so agree the waiting time in advance before you set off. If you prefer a formal arrangement, auto-rickshaws for a fort tour can be arranged at the tourist office. For ground outside the city, RSRTC and private buses are the most straightforward option without a car. Ride-hailing apps are not described in the available information, so plan on auto-rickshaws and arranged taxis rather than app-based services.

Where to stay

Chittorgarh has a good spread of places to stay, with budget options clustered around the bus depot and railway station. Near the bus depot you'll find Bhagwati Hotel on Gambhiri River Road, Hotel Natraj and Hotel Gaurav Palace in Gandhi Nagar near Apsara Talkies. On the railway side, Hotel Chetak sits opposite the station on NH 79 in Pratap Nagar, and Shalimar Hotel is also close by. Rituraj Vatika & Restaurant, near the Collectorate Office, is another budget choice.

For mid-range comfort, Hotel Shree Ji is a short walk from the railway station and offers air-conditioned rooms with attached bathrooms, open balconies and a vegetarian dining hall. RTDC Hotel Panna on Udaipur Road in Pratap Nagar is a standard hotel with air conditioning, room heaters, room service, a restaurant and helpful staff. Hotel Padmini on Bhilwara Road, near Sainik School, has a scenic riverside location with a panoramic view of the fort. If you're after something more special, Bassi Fort Palace is a heritage hotel in Bassi Village, around 24 km away on the Kota–Bundi–Chittorgarh–Udaipur road, with well-appointed rooms and suites and a collection of historical artifacts. Castle Bijaipur, in Bijaipur Village in the Vindhyanchal Hills about 34 km east, is calm and tranquil — an excellent place to relax and unwind amidst nature.

Food & drink

Chittorgarh eats simply and well, with plenty of roadside local joints where you can stop for a quick meal. Several hotels and heritage properties also open their restaurants to visitors. Bassi Fort Palace serves paranthas, vegetarian food and regional dishes, while Castle Bijaipur in Bassi District has a poolside restaurant for traditional Rajasthani food. Hotel Meera on Neemuch Road near the railway station serves Indian and Mughal meals, and Hotel Padmini on Bhilwara Road near the Sainik School offers pure vegetarian meals.

For a broader menu, Pratap Palace near the H.P.O serves continental, Indian and Chinese dishes alongside local specialities such as dal-baati-choorma and Lal Mas. When it comes to drinking, most of the bars belong to the town's high-end hotels, and visitors can head to these to enjoy the night time.

What to see and do

Most of what you'll see in Chittorgarh lies in ruins within the fortress compound, and you can cover the whole site in roughly three hours. A sensible full-day plan is to spend the morning at the fort and then head out to one of the nearby attractions in the afternoon. The fort itself, known simply as Chittor, was the capital of Mewar and is now one of the hill forts of Rajasthan inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It sprawls over a hill above the plains of the valley drained by the Berach River, and a winding hill road of more than a kilometre from the new town brings you to the west end main gate, Ram Pol. Inside, a circular road links all the gates and monuments. The fort once held many water bodies, now reduced to a couple of dozen ponds, wells and step wells fed by natural catchment and rainfall. Seven gates, called Pol, stand as massive stone structures with secure fortifications: Padan Pol, Bhairon Pol, Hanuman Pol, Ganesh Pol, Jodla Pol, Laxman Pol and the main entry gate of Ram Pol. Their pointed-arch doors are reinforced to fend off elephants and cannon shots, and the notched parapets at the top were built for archers. The circular road gives access to the numerous monuments, ruined palaces and temples inside, so it helps to compartmentalise the different sections as you go.

• Kirti Stambha (Tower of Fame) – a tall tower on a wide base, adorned with Jain sculptures on the outside and older and smaller than the Victory Tower. It is dedicated to Adinath, the first Jain tirthankar, with naked figures of the various tirthankars in special niches on the lowest floor. A narrow stairway of 54 steps leads through six stories to the top pavilion, added in the 15th century, which has 12 columns.
• Meera Temple (Mirabai Temple) – a lord Vishnu temple built by Maharana Kumbha in 1449, with beautiful idols in its sanctum, mendap and pillars. A small temple of Lord Krishna stands in the same premises. Entry is free.
• Padmini's Palace (Queen's Palace) – a white three-storied structure in the southern part of the fort, a 19th-century reconstruction of the original, with chhatris crowning the roofs and a water moat surrounding it. This style became the forerunner of other palaces in the state built with the concept of Jal Mahal. It is here that Alauddin was permitted to glimpse the mirror image of Rani Padmini, wife of Maharana Rattan Singh, a sight widely believed to have besotted him and convinced him to destroy Chittor to possess her. Entry is free.
• Rana Kumbha's Palace – in ruins and the oldest monument, near the entrance gate by the Vijaya Stambha. The palace included elephant and horse stables and a temple to Lord Shiva, and Maharana Udai Singh, founder of Udaipur, was born here. It is built of plastered stone, and its remarkable feature is a splendid series of canopied balconies. Entry is through Suraj Pol into a courtyard. Rani Meera, the poetess saint, also lived in this palace, and it was here that Rani Padmini consigned herself to the funeral pyre in one of the underground cellars as an act of jauhar along with many other women. The Nau Lakha Bandar, the royal treasury of Chittor, stood close by; across from the palace are now a museum and archeological office, with the Singa Chowri temple nearby.
• Vijay Stambh (Victory Tower) – often called the symbol of Chittor and a bold expression of triumph, erected by Rana Khumba to commemorate his victory over Mahmud Shah I Khalji, Sultan of Malwa. It rises in nine stories, accessed through a narrow circular staircase of 157 steps, with a carved interior, up to the eighth floor, from where there is a good view of the plains and the new town. The dome was a later addition, damaged by lightning and repaired during the 19th century. The tower is illuminated during the evenings.
• Fateh Prakash Palace – a huge palace of modern style built by Maharana Fateh Singh, with a big Ganesh idol, a fountain and frescoes. It is now a museum with a rich collection of sculptures from temples and buildings in the fort; photographing is prohibited.
• Gaumukh Reservoir (Gau Mukh Kund) – a deep tank filled by a spring coming from a cow mouth, at the edge of the cliff. It is considered sacred, and you can feed the fishes.
• Jain Temples – six stand on the fort. The largest and chief is the temple of Bhagawan Adinatha with fifty-two devkulikas, in a place known as Sattavish devri, meaning that at some time in the past there were twenty-seven temples here. The Digamabar Jain Kirtistambh and the seven-storied Kirtistambh are two among them; the seven-storied tower was built in the fourteenth century in memory of Bhagawan Adinatha.
• Kalika Mata Temple – across from Padmini's palace. A Sun temple dedicated to Surya, the sun-god, dated to the 8th century, was destroyed in the 14th century and rebuilt as a Kali temple.
• Tulja Bhavani Temple – on the west side of the fort, an ancient temple built to worship goddess Tulja and considered sacred. The tope khana, or cannon foundry, is next to it in a courtyard, where a few old cannons are still seen.

For excursions beyond the town, rent a car or buy a ticket from conducted travel agents to explore the outskirts. Barolo is worth visiting for its group of ancient temples, especially the ruins of the famous temples of Babaroli. Bassi Wildlife Sanctuary, near Bassi village, is home to panther, wild boar, antelopes and mongoose, and migratory birds also visit; you need prior permission from the District Forest Officer to enter. Bijolia has three ancient Central Indian-style temples, and the Undeswara Temple has a yoni and linga in the inner sanctums along with some excellent carvings. Deogarh is known for its palaces, their murals and a Jain temple. Menal has an excavated group of well-preserved 12th-century temples, and Nagri, on the banks of the Bairach, was an important township of the Mauryan era that flourished through the Mauryan and Gupta periods and now consists of excavations.

When to go

Chittorgarh has a dry climate, with a hot summer, a cool winter and a brief, lightly rainy monsoon. The recommended visiting window runs from September to March, when conditions are favourable for touring and the cooler months of that window are especially pleasant.

• Summer: Days are intensely hot, so sightseeing is strenuous and best confined to early mornings and evenings.
• Monsoon: Rainfall is only slight, bringing some wet spells rather than a soaking season, and the heat eases somewhat.
• Winter: Winters are pretty cool and comfortable for exploring the fort and palaces, and they fall within the recommended visiting period.

Three days in Chittorgarh

Day one: Start in Chittorgarh itself, the fort city of Rajasthan in Chittorgarh District, and give yourself time to settle in before exploring. The town sits between the Gambhiri and Berach rivers, with the Banas flowing nearby, so the setting is worth noticing as you get your bearings. Plan your days around the seasons: summers from April to June are fiercely hot, the monsoon months of August and September bring the rains, and October to February is the pleasant stretch, though March can already turn warm. Whatever the time of year, keep your pace steady and carry water.

• Arrive and orient yourself in Chittorgarh town
• Note the rivers that frame the area: Gambhiri, Berach and Banas
• Keep the heat in mind if visiting between April and June

Day two: Turn your attention to the region's Rajput heritage, once part of the Rajput State of Medapata. Build the day around the fort and palace sights of Chittorgarh, taking your time rather than rushing between them. Sturdy footwear helps on the uneven ground, and an early start lets you cover more before the afternoon heat builds.

• Explore the fort and palace remains of Chittorgarh
• Wear sturdy shoes for walking the site
• Start early to avoid the hottest hours

Day three: Use your last day to look outward. Maharana Pratap Airport (UDR) near Udaipur is the nearest air link, and rail connections reach Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota and Delhi, so you can plan an onward leg by train. By road, National Highways, the Golden Quadrilateral and the East West Corridor serve the area, making it easy to continue your journey across Rajasthan or beyond into India.

• Plan onward travel by air via UDR near Udaipur
• Check rail links to Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota and Delhi
• Use the highway network for road connections